Metaphors of War in Effective and Ineffective Coping of Medical Directors of COVID-19 Wards in Public Hospitals
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged medical professionals worldwide with an unprecedented need to provide care under conditions of complexity, uncertainty, and danger. These conditions, coupled with the unrelenting stress of overwhelming workloads, exhaustion, and decision-making fatigue, have forc...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-04-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.830266/full |
| _version_ | 1818273825823916032 |
|---|---|
| author | Lior Naamati-Schneider Gillie Gabay |
| author_facet | Lior Naamati-Schneider Gillie Gabay |
| author_sort | Lior Naamati-Schneider |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged medical professionals worldwide with an unprecedented need to provide care under conditions of complexity, uncertainty, and danger. These conditions, coupled with the unrelenting stress of overwhelming workloads, exhaustion, and decision-making fatigue, have forced clinicians to generate coping mechanisms. This qualitative study explored the use of metaphors as a coping mechanism by clinical directors of COVID-19 wards in Israeli public general hospitals while they were exposed to death and trauma throughout the pandemic's first wave in Israel (March to June 2020). The study employs discourse methodology and metaphor mapping analysis to capture the personal, organizational, and social dimensions of effective and ineffective processes of coping with an extreme health crisis. Analysis revealed that the metaphors that clinical directors used reflect a dual process of mediating and generating the social construction of meaning and facilitating effective and ineffective coping. Effective coping was facilitated by war metaphors that created a sense of mission and meaningfulness at both the organizational and the individual levels. War metaphors that generated a sense of isolation and sacrifice intensified helplessness and fear, which undermined coping. We propose actionable recommendations to enhance effective coping for individuals and organizations in this ongoing pandemic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T22:04:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-abfd50fe8c2d48178c22122c542e4409 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T22:04:07Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-abfd50fe8c2d48178c22122c542e44092022-12-22T00:10:26ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652022-04-011010.3389/fpubh.2022.830266830266Metaphors of War in Effective and Ineffective Coping of Medical Directors of COVID-19 Wards in Public HospitalsLior Naamati-Schneider0Gillie Gabay1Department of Health Systems Management, Hadassah Academic College Jerusalem, Jerusalem, IsraelDepartment of Interdisciplinary Studies, Achva Academic College, Arugot, IsraelThe COVID-19 pandemic has challenged medical professionals worldwide with an unprecedented need to provide care under conditions of complexity, uncertainty, and danger. These conditions, coupled with the unrelenting stress of overwhelming workloads, exhaustion, and decision-making fatigue, have forced clinicians to generate coping mechanisms. This qualitative study explored the use of metaphors as a coping mechanism by clinical directors of COVID-19 wards in Israeli public general hospitals while they were exposed to death and trauma throughout the pandemic's first wave in Israel (March to June 2020). The study employs discourse methodology and metaphor mapping analysis to capture the personal, organizational, and social dimensions of effective and ineffective processes of coping with an extreme health crisis. Analysis revealed that the metaphors that clinical directors used reflect a dual process of mediating and generating the social construction of meaning and facilitating effective and ineffective coping. Effective coping was facilitated by war metaphors that created a sense of mission and meaningfulness at both the organizational and the individual levels. War metaphors that generated a sense of isolation and sacrifice intensified helplessness and fear, which undermined coping. We propose actionable recommendations to enhance effective coping for individuals and organizations in this ongoing pandemic.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.830266/fullCOVID-19copingcliniciansdiscourse analysishospitalsmapping |
| spellingShingle | Lior Naamati-Schneider Gillie Gabay Metaphors of War in Effective and Ineffective Coping of Medical Directors of COVID-19 Wards in Public Hospitals Frontiers in Public Health COVID-19 coping clinicians discourse analysis hospitals mapping |
| title | Metaphors of War in Effective and Ineffective Coping of Medical Directors of COVID-19 Wards in Public Hospitals |
| title_full | Metaphors of War in Effective and Ineffective Coping of Medical Directors of COVID-19 Wards in Public Hospitals |
| title_fullStr | Metaphors of War in Effective and Ineffective Coping of Medical Directors of COVID-19 Wards in Public Hospitals |
| title_full_unstemmed | Metaphors of War in Effective and Ineffective Coping of Medical Directors of COVID-19 Wards in Public Hospitals |
| title_short | Metaphors of War in Effective and Ineffective Coping of Medical Directors of COVID-19 Wards in Public Hospitals |
| title_sort | metaphors of war in effective and ineffective coping of medical directors of covid 19 wards in public hospitals |
| topic | COVID-19 coping clinicians discourse analysis hospitals mapping |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.830266/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT liornaamatischneider metaphorsofwarineffectiveandineffectivecopingofmedicaldirectorsofcovid19wardsinpublichospitals AT gilliegabay metaphorsofwarineffectiveandineffectivecopingofmedicaldirectorsofcovid19wardsinpublichospitals |